With many families having both spouses working, or with only a single parent, or the like, modern food preparation often requires convenience and speed. However, such requirements have often been achieved at the expense of flavor, cost and variety.
Thus, the art has included many read-to-eat food items, items which are simple re-heated or the like. While successful, these items have several drawbacks that still may inhibit their attaining even greater commercial success.
For example, the taste and quality of many of these items is often sacrificed so the item can be frozen for storage. Such items also lose taste and consistency during storage. Thus, the ultimate product consumed can be less than originally envisioned.
Still further, many of these products contain large amounts of animal fat, sodium and the like in order to enhance their storage characteristics. As has been documented, ingredients such as animal fat, sodium and the like are not always desirable.
Still further, many of these products are not amenable to variations in cooking and serving style, such as French, Creole, Italian, or the like. Thus, the product is limited and the consumer is liable to become bored with the product.
Due to such lack of versatility, many presently-available partially prepared food products are not used by restaurants, institutions or the like since the overall product will be limited to one or two basic styles. Many restaurants want a basic product which can be altered and customized by their own chef.
Therefore, there is a need for a food product that can be prepared by a simple and quick heating process, yet is low in sodium and animal fat, and is also amenable to variations in serving and cooking style.